Bright Side Friday! Florida Fun

My Bright Side Friday has to do with Florida. My parents brought our entire family and cousins to Florida 8 years ago. It has been on my mind the past few years, thinking about how fun that was, and how young my sons were when we went. Finances have not been such for us to take my sons back. I was wishing there were a way to take them back, before they get past the "magical" age of the parks there. My dad surprised us with a trip back there this summer. I was really excited and thankful. Even though I had to cut my trip short, because of work, my sons were able to stay and continue their fun with grandparents and cousins. In fact, they come home tomorrow, so hubby and I will have a chance for date night tonight too! =)

Now it's your turn. What is your bright side?

=J

p.s. The photo is of my sons waiting to board the plane for Florida. I wish I could have heard all of the excitement going on in their heads.

Bright Side Friday!

It's Friday, and we have managed to not post anything since last Friday... oops! Things have been a bit crazy to say the least. The 4th of July weekend was wonderful and fun, but it seems like it has taken all week to recover and catch up from it.


I will be honest and let you know that I am having a difficult time coming up with my Bright Side today. It's not that I'm not thankful for all of the things I have, like a roof over my head and a loving family. I just like to find a Bright Side that is something other than that, otherwise that is ALL you will hear from me every week! =) Some days it's easier for me to come up with SEVERAL Monday Vents. This is one of them.

So, after much thought, here is my Bright Side:
Reflecting on the 4th of July weekend, I am glad that we live in such a great community of wonderful people that have become our friends. Everywhere we went, we ran into people that we knew AND liked (lol)! The kids all had fun and so did the adults.

Now it's your turn! Share your Bright Side!

=J

p.s. This photo is from our 4th. If you look over to the left the the fireworks, you can see the crescent moon. I don't ever remember seeing the moon in our fireworks before. It turned really orange that night!

Bright Side Friday!

I know that I usually start out by commenting, that the fact that it IS Friday, could be a bright side on it's own. I'm still standing by that. This has been one of those weeks that I have felt like I was just trying to survive each day. I didn't even realize I had made it to Friday until I got on Twitter and saw all of the "#FF" and "Happy Friday" postings. I'm still trying to shake off the sleepy from a terrible night's sleep, but knowing that it is Friday has given me strength and a renewed drive. Or, it could be this second cup of coffee that I added chocolate milk to...

Anyways, here is my Bright Side Friday. Please post yours. It makes us all feel better hearing about happy things.

We had terrible storms hit a few days ago. Most people in our area lost their power. We did not. This is a switch as we used to be the ones who ALWAYS lost our power and everyone around us was on. I can't even remember how much food we have had to throw away over the years. This time we were spared. I almost felt a bit guilty. Some were out for 36 hours and others more than 48. To top it off, trees were down all over, including in our back yard. Someone was watching out for us, because it fell parallel to the power lines. Absolutely unbelievable. Thankful. Truly thankful.

=J

P.S. This is a photo of the tree that broke off about 30 feet up. The trunk is on the left between the lines, and the top 60 feet of the tree is on the ground going off towards the right. Weirdest thing about this, is that ALL of the trees in the neighborhood that went down, are pointing in the SAME direction!

Mommy, why do chains and whips excite her?

 

“Sticks and stones can break my bones, but chains and whips excite me” That’s what I get for giving contemporary music a listen with my 5 & 7 year old. I typically listen to Christian music. I know that may sound dorky, but I really like it and it is good music. It is also refreshing to have the radio on and not have to be concerned about what my child will hear. “Mommy, why do chains and whips excite her?” “I think because they’re shiny, hey, look at that airplane!!” What happened to the dance music of the 80s and 90s that you could belt out without offending anyone? Yes, I know my mother raised her eyebrows at Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”. Oh, wait a minute, that doesn’t exactly support my case. Well, fine, I guess it has always been a bad influence on young minds. My line is apparently drawn at S&M and I must be getting old and crabby. On second thought, it did have a nice beat to it. 

S-)

Image borrowed from: BludOgre at http://photobucket.com/images/whips and chains/

Bright Side Friday!

It's Bright Side Friday and it only took me half of the day to post this! Oh well, better than the Monday Vent being posted at the end of the day. So it IS Friday, and the weekend is here. That should be good enough for anyone, but share your good news anyways!


Here is mine: It seems like work is picking up a bit! I am thankful for every little bit of it.

Now it's your turn, what's "floating your boat" today?

=J

p.s. This is a photo of my two sons. The little guy was less than a few weeks old. It makes me smile. They are my Bright Side every day. =)

30 Thoughts by My Kids' Mom

1. Being a mom is the hardest job I've ever had, but also the most rewarding. Sounds like a cliché, but I have found that to be more than just words.

2. I tell my kids I love them every morning as they leave the house to get on the school bus.

3. I watch my kids go out to the corner and keep watching until they get on the school bus.

4. My younger child and I wave to each other as the bus pulls away. We don't stop waving until I am out of view.

5. I give my kids a kiss and tell them that I love them every night before I go to bed, even if they are already asleep.

6. My kids appreciate the value of money.

7. My kids don't ever ask me to buy something for them. But every now and then, I do anyways.

8. I love my husband, but if I had to choose between him and my kids, I would choose my kids.

9. I love my dogs, but if I had to choose between them and my husband, I would choose my husband. I like to tease him that I'm undecided on that one.

10. Deep down, I believe that if someone did unspeakable things to someone I love, I would be capable of doing unspeakable things to that person. I hope I'm never put in that situation.

11. It makes me angry when people lie about me or accuse me of things that I didn't do and even more so when they do it to my kids.

12. I try to teach my kids to be nice, but strong enough to not be taken advantage of.

13. I hope my kids are never bullied, but they are so nice, I have a sinking feeling that it will happen.

14. I am thankful that I do not have to home school my kids. My kids and I would be a mess if I had to. I am also thankful that we are in a wonderful school district that teaches my kids great things.

15. I love when my kids tell me things that they learned at school, just because they are excited about learning it, not because I asked.

16. I don't over schedule my kids. If they don't want to do baseball, kickball, and soccer simultaneously, that is fine with me and I won't try and make them do it just because others are.

17. I don't send my kids away to camp over the summer. They don't want to go, and I don't want to send them.

18. I trust my kids more than I trust other kids.

19. I don't like when people send their younger kids over to “play” with my older kids “because, they love your kids and look up to them.” What about what my kids want to do? You don't give me the option of saying “no” each time. As nice as my kids are, they don't really want to “babysit” your kids, again.

20. I don't like when people invite the younger sibling to join the older one who was going to play with my kid because the younger one “doesn't want to miss out, and it's not fair.” Umm... what about what you are doing to the older one and my kid? They can't have a play date without a little brother? Is that fair?

21. I tend to be an advocate for all kids in unfair situations.

22. When my kids ask me to sleep in their homemade fort with them, I always say “yes” because I know one day, they will stop asking. I enjoy every sleepless minute.

23. Meal time is meal time. Not come and get it when you feel like it time.

24. I have expected my kids to clear their plates from the table since they were old enough to do so.

25. I have always expected my kids to stay at the table with everyone else, even if they were done eating.

26. My kids are not allowed to get out of their seat in a restaurant. It makes me crazy when other kids do that.

27. I have always encouraged my kids to do things as soon as they were able. I can't stand when other people expect too little from their kids and say things like “Oh, well he's only 'X' years old”.

28. I know that I am a better person than I would be if I didn't have kids. It is important to me that they learn from my example. Sometimes, I catch myself doing what I should instead of what I really want to, just because my kids are there.

29. I don't expect my kids to be perfect, but I do expect them to try their best.

30. I'm thankful for my life with my wonderful kids. I can't imagine it any other way.

=J